Hirokazu Ibata is fully prepared to see his 2014 salary drop and is not planning to say anything against it. Ibata struggled at the start of the season and never recovered. He also ended up having surgery on his right ankle and elbow.

Tokyo Sports has heard that Hiromitsu Ochiai's contract with Chunichi is fairly low-priced without any incentives or bonuses. And while his title is GM, it seems his role may be more along the lines of adviser.

The Carp are planning to go with five foreign players on their roster next year. Bryan Bullington and Kila Ka'aihue are expected to return. Hiroshima is also most likely ask Brad Eldred and Kam Mickolio back for the 2014 season. In addition to these four, the Carp would like to find a pitcher that can strike hitters out.

Teams have until the end of November to submit their list of players they want to reserve. The Tigers are planning to keep the lines of communication open with Randy Messenger as close to the deadline as possible.

There may be some in the organization that are worried how things might change for Fujinami if Messenger ends up leaving -- the two were apparently somewhat close and Messenger may have provided Fujinami with a steady presence to look up to during the season.

Batting coach Hiromasa Arai was tossing baseballs to Fred Lewis during batting practice today when he took a batted ball off the middle of his forehead (Lewis accidentally pulled the ball toward Arai). He crumpled to the ground upon contact but did not lose consciousness. He was visibly bleeding.

Arai was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and examined. The Carp later announced that he was diagnosed with a contusion and a skull fracture (tests came back negative for any damage to the brain). He will require about four weeks for a full recovery, including one week of rest.

"[Arai] suffered a fracture and required some stitches. He told me he was fine and not to worry," said Kenjiro Nomura.

4th round draft pick Ko Shimozuru was assigned to Ni-gun spring camp. He got a chance to participate in Ichi-gun workouts on Tuesday and impressed coaches enough to merit a longer look. Shimozuru will remain at Ichi-gun spring camp for the time being.

The Hiroshima Carp signed thirty-one-year-old outfielder Fred Lewis to a one-year contract worth an estimated 40M yen. The deal also includes a signing bonus of 15M yen and a team option for the 2014 season.

Dennis Sarfate finished out the second year of a two-year deal today. The media learned on Wednesday that Hiroshima is not planning to offer the thirty-one-year an extension for the 2013 season.

Sarfate struggled a little this season, perhaps due to an inguinal hernia surgery he had last winter, and may have also been worried about his wife's health (he returned to the US in June to be with her). In either case, it seems Hiroshima felt he lost a little something on his fastball and may have felt he would be a risk for the 2013 season.

Kam Mickolio, Nick Stavinoha, and Brad Eldred will likely return next year. The Carp are talking things over with Bryan Bullington (he finished out a two-year deal). They are also talking to Fred Lewis.

According to Sanspo, the Yokohama Bay Stars have added Sarfate to their list of players to look into. Signing him would allow the team to move Shun Yamaguchi to the starting rotation. Source: Sanspo 11/8/2012

Comments Off on Hiroshima not planning to offer Sarfate a contract for 2013, Yokohama interested